MALPUA INFUSED WITH FRAGRANT ORANGE SYRUP - AN ODE TO MY ETERNAL ROMANCE WITH PARIS & MY LOVE FOR CRÊPE SUZETTE

MALPUA INFUSED WITH FRAGRANT ORANGE SYRUP

Malpua is a sweet loved as a dessert or a festive snack, resembles a pan cake which has been drenched in a resplendent hot sugary syrup, is loved in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Having lived in the Eastern part of India for a considerable amount of time my rendezvous with MALPUA has been quite frequent.

In the State of Orissa which houses the famous Jagannath temple Malpua is offered as an Oblation to Lord Jagannath the residing deity of the temple as the very first or early morning offerings. In West Bengal Malpua is made in most homes in the month of Poush (which is the ninth month of the Bengali Calender and December - January of the Gregorian calendar). It is an age old tradition to make Pithey (Bengali sweets made with rice flour, coconut milk & "khejurer gur"/date palm jaggery)along with Malpuas, almost like an indispensable Ritual in almost all Bengali Homes.

In the Northern part of India Malpuas are made with a lot of fanfare when the festival of colours "Holi" is celebrated.

The batter of Malpua is as varied as the different places where it is made. The ingredients used vary in the different regions. Even some add sugar to the batter before frying whereas others douse the pancake in sugar syrup after frying. One thing however remains common is its likeness to pancakes and its Delish taste.

Personally I love making Malpuas using "Rabri" where the extremely creamy, rich, dense milk makes the Malpuas super soft and outstanding.

This Malpua recipe is My Ode to Paris and Crepe Suzette. This is Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe, one among his huge repertoire of brilliant recipes which I have had the honour of trying in my kitchen and this recipe completely translates my feeling of my never ending romance with the city of Love PARIS.

I have a very strong fascination for this extraordinary city Paris. Every time I visit the city I fall a little more in love with it. As they say in Paris Love is in the air. Everything about the city oozes Romance. With a love fragrant air caressing you,walking hand in hand across L'Avenue Des Champ Elysees gazing dreamily at the quaintly appointed rows of designer stores, hopping into the elegant restaurants just to sip a  glass of the most  sought after french wine or rubbing heels with a cine star at one of the famous hotels just a thought of this makes me feel that I am in an enchanted land.

To top this up the French cuisine emanating from the lap of history with its rich flavours and subtle nuances is my beloved whenever I visit Paris. The to die for French entrée, cheese and the dessert,Hors Du Monde/Out of the world, Delicieux/delicious. I am a huge fan of Crêpe Suzette. Crêpe Suzette is a French dessert consisting of a crêpe with beurre Suzette, a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest. I have always wanted to come across an Indian Dessert inspired by Crêpe Suzette.So one such lucky day surfing across TV channels, I heard the Master in Indian Cuisine Chef Sanjeev Kapoor uttering the very words I had wanted to find somewhere, someday in the form of a dessert, A Malpua inspired by Crêpe Suzette. I was surprised as I watched him it felt as if my dream had been transformed into his creation.

And that was it. I didn't wait even a day to collect all the ingredients from the Supermarket and fuel up my passion for Paris with my very own Malpua Suzette. How did it turn out? My imperative love for PARIS ensured that I dished out soft, juicy oozing with every bite tangerine flavoured Pancakes which definitely took the "True Blue Indian Malpuas"-in the word of the master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor ( Pancakes drenched in sugar syrup) to another level. My very own " MALPUA SUZETTE" Wow is my Parisian love come true.

MALPUA INFUSED WITH FRAGRANT ORANGE SYRUP:

Serves : 4
Preparation : 30-45 mins
Cooking Time : 15-20 mins

Ingredients : 

For the Sugar Syrup :

1) Sugar - 2 Cups

2) Water - 2 Cups 

3) Orange Flavoured Powder - 2 tbsp

For the Malpua Batter : 

1) All Purpose Flour/ Refined Flour/ Maida - 4ttbsp

2) Milk - 1and1/2 Cup

3) Rabri - 250 gms

               OR

     Mawa - 100gms 

4) Orange Flavoured Powder - 2 tbsp

5) Powdered Green Cardamom - 1 tsp

6) Pistachios - 10-15 chopped

For Making the Rabri : 

1) Milk - 1ltr /4 Cups 

Step by step procedure:

1) To make the Rabri take 4 cups milk in a thick bottom pan and on low flame keep boiling it and reducing it till it becomes 1 and 1/2 Cup or from 1 ltr to 250 ml. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the pan as the thickened, sticky and gooey milk from the sides will make the Rabri more delicious. This process is time taking as you will have to make the milk condensed or reduced thick without burning it, so it has to be done on low flame with a lot of love and patience to get the perfect Rabri. If you do not want to do this then buy Rabri or Mawa from any Indian store. I have used Rabri for this recipe.

2) Add the Orange Flavoured Powder. You can use any of the Orange flavoured powders we use to make summer coolants. Mix Well. 

3) Add All Purpose Flour to the mixture and mix well so that lumps do not form.

4) Add Milk and stir to get the batter to a pouring consistency or pan cake batter consistency. Add in freshly ground green cardamom powder n pistachios. You will notice that the texture of the batter is not very smooth, but that is the perfect texture to get the most impeccable Malpuas. 

5) To get the Sugar Syrup ready take a pan add sugar, pour water and add the Orange flavoured powder. When the sugar dissolves and the liquid starts to boil, remove from flame and strain the liquid using a muslin cloth or fine strainer. Now put back the pan containing the sugar syrup on low flame as we need a warm syrup for our Malpuas. 

6) Heat clarified butter in a pan. Scoop out a ladle full of the Malpua batter and pour it in the shape of a small pancake into the hot oil. In the same pan make a couple more Malpuas. 

7) When it is nicely browned on one side turn over to cook the other side. Do not be in a haste to turn your Malpuas. Let it cook and completely brown then gently turn it over. If you are in a hurry your Malpua might break. Also as you are fry the Malpuas on high flame / heat please be alert not to burn them.

8) Once both the sides become radiantly golden brown take out the piping hot Malpuas and put them in the warm tangerine sugary syrup. Let Malpua drink in the sweet and citrus juices and become completely infused with the tangy aroma and the candy like goodness.

9) Your hot, deliciously sticky, syrupy, creamy, soft & melting goodness emanating gorgeous orange fragrance is ready to devour. The true blue Indian Malpua still aromatic with green cardamom but also resplendent with the citrus blast is my true ode to my never ending Love for Paris and french Crepe Suzette.

10) However friends who would like to indulge only in the Indian flavours can try this recipe minus the Orange powder.
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MALPUA INFUSED WITH FRAGRANT ORANGE SYRUP RECIPE :

INGREDIENTS :

For the Sugar Syrup :

1) Sugar - 2 Cups

2) Water - 2 Cups 

3) Orange Flavoured Powder - 2 tbsp

For the Malpua Batter : 

1) All Purpose Flour/ Refined Flour/ Maida - 4ttbsp

2) Milk - 1and1/2 Cup

3) Rabri - 250 gms

               OR

     Mawa - 100gms 

4) Orange Flavoured Powder - 2 tbsp

5) Powdered Green Cardamom - 1 tsp

6) Pistachios - 10-15 chopped

For Making the Rabri : 

1) Milk - 1ltr /4 Cups 

STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE: 

1) To make the Rabri take 4 cups milk in a thick bottom pan and on low flame keep boiling it and reducing it till it becomes 1 and 1/2 Cup or from 1 ltr to 250 ml. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the pan as the thickened, sticky and gooey milk from the sides will make the Rabri more delicious. This process is time taking as you will have to make the milk condensed or reduced thick without burning it, so it has to be done on low flame with a lot of love and patience to get the perfect Rabri. If you do not want to do this then buy Rabri or Mawa from any Indian store. I have used Rabri for this recipe.

2) Add the Orange Flavoured Powder. You can use any of the Orange flavoured powders we use to make summer coolants. Mix Well.

3) Add All Purpose Flour to the mixture and mix well so that lumps do not form.

4) Add Milk and stir to get the batter to a pouring consistency or pan cake batter consistency. Add in freshly ground green cardamom powder n pistachios. You will notice that the texture of the batter is not very smooth, but that is the perfect texture to get the most impeccable Malpuas. 

5) To get the Sugar Syrup ready take a pan add sugar, pour water and add the Orange flavoured powder. When the sugar dissolves and the liquid starts to boil, remove from flame and strain the liquid using a muslin cloth or fine strainer. Now put back the pan containing the sugar syrup on low flame as we need a warm syrup for our Malpuas. 

6) Heat clarified butter in a pan. Scoop out a ladle full of the Malpua batter and pour it in the shape of a small pancake into the hot oil. In the same pan make a couple more Malpuas. 

7) When it is nicely browned on one side turn over to cook the other side. Do not be in a haste to turn your Malpuas. Let it cook and completely brown then gently turn it over. If you are in a hurry your Malpua might break. Also as you are fry the Malpuas on high flame / heat please be alert not to burn them. 

8) Once both the sides become radiantly golden brown take out the piping hot Malpuas and put them in the warm tangerine sugary syrup. Let Malpua drink in the sweet and citrus juices and become completely infused with the tangy aroma and the candy like goodness. 

9) Your hot, deliciously sticky, syrupy, creamy, soft & melting goodness emanating gorgeous orange fragrance is ready to devour. The true blue Indian Malpua still aromatic with green cardamom but also resplendent with the citrus blast is my true ode to my never ending Love for Paris and french Crepe Suzette. 

10) However friends who would like to indulge only in the Indian flavours can try this recipe minus the Orange powder. 

Note : If you decide to buy the Rabri or use Readymade Mawa instead of Rabri then your preparation time will be reduced to 5-10 mins max. For the milk to reduce to the consistency of Rabri it takes a long time and has to be done on a medium flame, with constant scraping off the milk which thicken and stick to the sides of your pan, so the time taken is longer. This work require both time and patience, but trust me friends the result is definitely superior than any store bought rabri or mawa.

Also note that you should add the exact quantity of the all purpose flour to the rabri. If you add more your Malpua will loose its light cushion like feel and if you add less then the Malpua will tend to break. 

I hope that I have inspired you enough to recreate mon armour/my love Malpua Suzette too in your kitchen. Will wait eagerly for your feedback and pictures of your creation.

Check List :

1)Sugar, 2)Orange Flavoured Powder, 3)All Purpose Flour, 4)Milk, 5)Mawa/Rabri, 6)Green Cardamom Powder, 7)Pistachios, 8)Clarified Butter